FOUR TIPS FOR GLOBAL RECRUITING SUCCESS

Below is an excellent article written by guest contributor Amy Rodgers. Amy is Vice-President of Global Human Resources at Citadel Plastics Holdings, Inc., a leading compounder of custom formulated polymer materials. She has over 20 years of HR experience, leading growth and talent initiatives in the Americas, Asia and Europe. In addition to her leadership role at Citadel, she is a board member at the Management Association of Illinois, an employer’s HR Association.

Enjoy your reading!

Four Tips for Global Recruiting Success

Your boss walks into your office and tells you the company is expanding operations into a new international region you have never been and know little about. Better yet, you are charged with hiring the executive team which is critical to the start up. Are you ready?

As companies continue to expand their growth strategies to add operations and offices abroad, recruiting talent remains at the top of list for HR Departments to partner in business success. How do you find talent abroad without HR boots on the ground in the regions you are recruiting? This is a challenge that more and more HR professionals and businesses are facing.

Here are four tips to be ready and make your global recruiting successful:

Build Your Global HR Team:

Expand your HR team beyond your employees to include recruiting partners, region experts and experienced international HR professionals. Align with search firms that have a global footprint and can not only recruit, but help you to become knowledgeable quickly in different regions and cultures. Share your expansion plans with your network to locate HR professionals and people who have experience in the region. Attend international HR seminars to learn and connect with other professionals. A multi-faceted networking approach will present you with broad perspective and support.

Know the Recruiting Landscape:

Understanding the recruiting landscape early is critical to deliver on your plan. International searches can take significantly longer than those in the U.S. due to notice periods and logistics of interviewing candidates in different countries and time zones. While Linked In has changed the recruiting playing field for candidates and companies in the U.S., it may not be the primary recruiting tool for companies to use in foreign countries, especially where language can be a barrier. Getting educated can help to establish an effective plan for searches, save time and keep your project on track. Use your team to educate you early on expected timing, challenges to expect and best path to success. Take a trip to the region as soon as you can, as there is nothing that replaces your ability to see and learn live.

. Understand the Local Culture:

While it would take significant time to understand all of the cultural differences in region, there are certain things you need to know before you begin recruiting so that you find the right candidate. Length of time in a role or with a company may be respected in one culture but seen as not progressing in another. Multinational companies can be particularly attractive to certain candidates, but not to others and selecting the right type of expat experience can be critical to leadership roles. Understanding the norms in each of these areas will help to set expectations with your team on timing, cost to hire and keys to retention.

Focus on the Big Picture:

Without local HR, it can be quite overwhelming to learn all of the differences in employment and recruiting in different regions. Focus on the key drivers to recruiting and retaining talent in the region. While you may never understand all of the details, keeping focused on the big picture will help you to ensure you are keeping your finger on the pulse of the issues that matter.

Expanding internationally is not only is good for business, it’s good for HR professionals to build experience, expand perspectives, and contribute strategically to the business. So when your boss comes into your office with an expansion plan, jump on it with both boots.